§-Literature syllabus
VIC · VCAA← Literature
Literature syllabus, dot point by dot point
Every dot point in the VIC Literature syllabus, with a focused answer for each. Click any dot point for a worked explainer, past exam questions and links to related points.
Unit 3: Adaptations and transformations
Module overview →How do the conventions of a particular form and medium produce meaning, and what is lost or gained when a text crosses into another?
the features and conventions of the form and medium of a text, and how they shape an audience response
How does moving a story into a new form or medium change the meaning a reader or viewer makes of it?
the ways form, structure and medium shape meaning when a text is adapted or transformed
How do the views and values of a source and its adaptation differ, and what does the change in cultural moment do to them?
the comparison of the views and values conveyed by a source text and by its adaptation or transformation
How does an adaptation draw on, echo and answer the text that came before it, and how do you read those intertextual relationships?
the intertextual relationships between an original text and its adaptation, including allusion, echo, omission and inversion
How does an adaptation function as a deliberate interpretation of its source, and how do you analyse the reading it advances?
the ways an adaptation or transformation constitutes an interpretation of the original text rather than a neutral reproduction of it
Unit 3: Developing interpretations
Module overview →How do you balance your own interpretation, the textual evidence and a different reading into one sustained, defensible argument?
the integration of an initial interpretation, textual evidence and a supplementary reading into a single sustained argument
How do you build an initial interpretation of a text grounded in its views, values and the world that produced it?
the ideas, views and values a text endorses, challenges or marginalises, and the context of its production
How does the historical, social and cultural context in which a text was produced shape the interpretation you build of it?
the historical, social and cultural context of a text's production and its bearing on interpretation
How does a second, supplementary reading deepen, complicate or challenge the interpretation you first built?
the ways a supplementary reading affirms, challenges or extends an initial interpretation of a text
Unit 4: Close analysis
Module overview →How do you identify and analyse the literary features of a passage and name them with precise metalanguage?
the analysis of literary features such as diction, imagery, syntax, tone and sound, and the precise metalanguage used to discuss them
How do different literary perspectives and critical lenses change the interpretation a reader builds of a text?
the influence of literary perspectives and critical lenses on the interpretation of a text
How do you move from the detail of selected passages to a sustained interpretation of a whole text?
the close analysis of selected passages and the construction of an interpretation from textual detail
How is the close analysis examination structured, and how do you build a response across the set passages under time?
the structure of the close analysis examination and the construction of a sustained response across set passages
Unit 4: Creative responses to texts
Module overview →How do you analyse and then adopt the voice, point of view and stylistic features of a set text in your own creative writing?
the analysis of a text's voice, point of view, style and structure as the basis for the craft of a creative response
How does understanding the views and values of a set text shape the interpretive choices you make in a creative response?
the use of an understanding of a text's views and values to inform the interpretive choices of a creative response
How do you write a creative response that genuinely reflects an understanding of the original text's features and concerns?
the features of a text and the ways a creative response can reflect, extend or reframe them
How does a written reflective commentary explain and justify the choices made in a creative response?
the use of a reflective commentary to articulate the connections between a creative response and the original text